COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (June 6, 2018) – After a few nervous moments in the first set, the U.S. Boys Youth National Team got down to business and defeated Guatemala, 25-23, 25-14, 25-18 at the NORCECA U19 Championship on Wednesday in San José, Costa Rica.
The BYNT (1-0) will play Honduras on Thursday at 4 p.m. PT. FloVolleyball.tv, a subscription service, is showing the matches live.
Every player on the roster saw action in Wednesday’s match and every player except libero Mason Briggs scored. Briggs was credited with 19 receptions, 79 percent positive.
Middle blocker Ethan Hill led the BYNT with 10 points on a match-high eight kills and a match-high two aces. Middle blocker Ethan Smith added eight points on seven kills and one block.
The U.S. led Guatemala in attacks (36-12), blocks (7-1) and aces (4-2). Guatemala scored 40 points on U.S. errors while committing 28.
Setter Joe Karlous started the match and played into the second set when Aidan Knipe took over and finished the match. Combined, they set the team to a .468 hitting percentage.
“We were nervous going into our first international game,” Karlous said. “We played totally fine and kept cool after set one. All the jitters got away in set two; now everyone knows how we play. This team is good on chemistry; we love each other and our coaches”.
The errors piled up in the first set as the United States trailed 23-21. Karlous and Smith responded with two straight quick kills to tie the score and a Guatemala error gave the U.S. set point. Karlous and Smith combined for a block to give the BYNT the victory.
The U.S. didn’t struggle after that.
“I have a lot of faith in all our 12 guys and you will see different lineups depending on what we see,” U.S. Head Coach Brad Keller said. “Everyone brings something different and I wanted to give all of them some time on the court.”
The Guatemalan team wore black ribbons on its uniforms, presumably to honor victims of Sunday’s eruption of the Fuego volcano.
U.S. STARTERS VS GUATEMALA
Outside Hitters: Alex Knight and James Hartley
Middle Blockers: Ethan Smith and Ethan Hill
Opposite: Clarke Godbold
Setter: Joe Karlous
Libero: Mason Briggs
Substitutes: Aidan Knipe (S), Akhil Tangutur (OH), Joe Deluzio (OH), Scott Solan (Opp), Nathaniel Gates (MB)
U.S. SCORING VS GUATEMALA
Kills: Hill 8, Smith 7, Godbold 5, Knight 5, Gates 3, Tangutur 2, Deluzio 2, Karlous 1, Knipe 1, Hartley 1, Solan 1
Blocks: Knipe 2, Godbold 2, Smith 1, Knight 1, Solan 1
Aces: Hill 2, Karlous 1, Solan 1
NORCECA U19 Continental Championship
Boys Youth National Team
2. Joe Karlous (S, 6-0, Costa Mesa, Calif., So Cal)
3. Mason Briggs (L, 5-11, Valencia, Calif., So Cal)
4. Aidan Knipe (S, 6-2, Huntington Beach, Calif., So Cal)
5. Akhil Tangutur (OH, 6-4, Pacific Palisades, Calif., So Cal)
10. Ethan Smith (MB, 6-7, Laguna Niguel, Calif., So Cal)
12. Joseph Deluzio (OH, 6-6, Windermere, Fla., Florida)
13. Alex Knight (OH, 6-6, Culver City, Calif., So Cal)
14. James Hartley (OH, 6-6, Waxhaw, N.C., Carolina)
15. Ethan Hill (MB, 6-7, San Clemente, Calif., So Cal)
16. Clarke Godbold (Opp, 6-5, San Pedro, Calif., So Cal)
18. Scott Solan (Opp, 6-8, Las Vegas, Nev., So Cal)
19. Nathaniel Gates (MB, 6-8, La Jolla, Calif., So Cal)
Head Coach: Brad Keller (UCLA men’s volleyball assistant coach)
Assistant Coach: Nick MacRae (Long Beach State men’s volleyball associate head coach)
Assistant Coach: Colin McMillan (Penn State men’s volleyball associate head coach)
Team Leader: Gabby Lutjen (USA Volleyball)
Technical Coordinator: Kevin Burch (The Ohio State University men’s volleyball assistant coach)
Schedule and Results (All times PT)
Pool Play
June 6
United States def Guatemala, 25-23, 25-14, 25-18
4 p.m. Cuba def Honduras, 25-9, 25-10, 25-10
6 p.m. Puerto Rico vs Nicaragua
June 7
2 p.m. Cuba vs Guatemala
4 p.m. Honduras vs United States
6 p.m. Costa Rica vs Puerto Rico
June 8
2 p.m. Honduras vs Guatemala
4 p.m. United States vs Cuba
6 p.m. Costa Rica vs Puerto Rico
June 9
8 a.m. Quarterfinal
10 a.m. Quarterfinal
4 p.m. Semifinal
6 p.m. Semifinal
June 10
1 p.m. Fifth-place match
3 p.m. Third-place match
5 p.m. First-place match